


Paths Taken and Shared

by MrMissMrsRandom



Category: Fire Emblem Echoes: Mou Hitori no Eiyuu Ou | Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia
Genre: Because I couldn't just have script I had to go Big, Both of them need therapy, C-A Support Chain but more fleshed out, Friendship, Gen, Mentions of others in the Deliverence, Spoilers for up to Act 5
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-28
Updated: 2018-03-28
Packaged: 2019-04-13 22:03:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,048
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14121774
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MrMissMrsRandom/pseuds/MrMissMrsRandom
Summary: How a farm boy became a Hero-King and how a soldier became a Kingmaker.





	Paths Taken and Shared

**Author's Note:**

> To celebrate reaching over 100 kudos on “The Lion in Winter,” based on votes by readers from it I have made a Lukas and Alm Support chain! I apologize for technically posting this before the deadline, but there was a lull in votes. Also, even though I write about the potential for Alm and Lukas as romantic 30 years later in The Lion in Winter fic, I am not comfortable with shipping them in the game due to the age-gap, so this is a strictly platonic support. However, I have wanted to write this for a while since Alm and Lukas both needed more support chains in-game in my opinion. Especially when the majority of Lukas's are behind DLC paywall. Some of these conversations reference from the “base” conversations that Lukas has if you talk to him at certain points in the story during exploration, as well as The Rise of Deliverance DLC.

_C Support_

It was the night following Clair’s and other Deliverance soldiers release from their capture at the Southern Outpost. In order to give everyone much needed rest before the march to the new hideout, Lukas had volunteered to take first watch. The moon was high in the sky, full enough to bathe the battlements with light. He had made enough rounds to know that any of Desaix’s remaining men had retreated back to the capital. It brought him a sense of relief that he had not felt in some time.

Lukas leaned against one of the pillars and allowed himself to try and process what had occurred thus far. He, in a sense, failed his mission to bring Sir Mycen to lead the Deliverance, but from a practical sense, they now had more volunteers. The children from Ram village had proved themselves over the course of barely a week to be capable of the trials and tribulations of battle.

“Lukas?”

He turned to the stairs at the sound of his name and found Alm walking up the steps. His sword was at his side but he was not donned in his usual armor. Alm must have just woken up.

“Good evening, Alm,” Lukas replied with his usual calm smile, this time with a bit more truth to it. “What brings you up here?”

Alm smiled back. “Woke up to Tobin mumbling in his sleep and couldn’t get back to sleep. Do you mind me staying for a bit?”

“Not at all,” Lukas turned his head to look out at the surrounding fields. “I think it’s going to be a quiet night. Our efforts were fruitful.”

“Yeah, I’m glad we found Lady Clair. She’s… quite the character.”

Lukas covered his mouth to hide how his smile widened. “Clair may seem that way at first, but means well. Honestly, sometimes I think she’s the stuff that holds Sir Clive and all of us together. Her loss would have been a devastating blow.”

“How many people were lost in the attack?” Alm asked.

“...” Lukas paused. Based on the flow of the conversation, he did not expect that. “I don’t know. The other soldiers Desaix’s men had kept captive were not sure who escaped and who perished in the initial attack.”

“That’s awful,” Alm replied, voice low.

Lukas’s first instinct was to respond that that was how war worked, but doing that felt much too cruel. “It is, but at this point, it’s best to have some faith in such times. We can’t change the flow of fate, and whatnot. However, that doesn’t mean as we can’t make a difference.”

“Wow.”

Lukas turned to Alm, frowning. “Pardon?”

“Uh, sorry. It’s just, that sounds really wise. Apologies if I sound a bit naive. Maybe it’s because I’m new to fighting, or something.”

The honesty in the boy’s response made Lukas reach out and pat Alm’s shoulder. “Don’t be so ready to doubt yourself. Where’s that sense of justice when you heard Lady Silque had been captured by those bandits?”

“Well, that wasn’t about me. I just reacted how anyone else would.”

“Very few people these days would have reacted how you did, Alm,” Lukas replied seriously. “The famine has made many Zofians fearful of conflict.”

“But not you,” Alm countered. Once again, Lukas was surprised, much like when Alm had earlier told Lukas it was not his fault that the Southern Outpost had fallen, and had given him reassurance. “And not the Deliverance, either. You’re fighting to do the right thing.”

“...Yes, I suppose so.” Lukas replied. “But, how about I end our exchange of compliments with this: you and your friends have proven to be more than worthy of Sir Mycen’s name. Anyone who judges you based on where you are born instead of your own merits does not know how to truly judge someone’s character.”

Alm, once more, smiled. “Thank you, Lukas.”

“You’re most welcome. I think it’s time now that you try to get some rest. Tobin’s muttering may have finished now.”

“Oh, I doubt it. He used to sleep-talk all the time whenever we had sleepovers when we were kids. Guess it’ll have to be something to get used to.”

“Hm.” Lukas let out a short laugh at the joke. The companionship Alm shared with his friends was strong. Lukas hoped that it would continue to be so as their cause continued.

\--

_B Support_

“Hey Lukas, do you have a minute?”

Lukas looked up from tending to his armor to Alm. Lukas’s gaze flickered towards the Royal sword at Alm’s side, before letting a welcoming smile spread across his face, covering up his tiredness. The gatekeeper had allowed their forces to remain stationed at the Sluice Gate to await news from Rigel. It had been a few days, yet no word had yet come. “Of course.”

Alm sat down on one of the vacant boxes, folding his hands. “...I feel… unsure, about what’s going to happen next.”

Lukas set his breastplate aside for later. “If Rigel will or won’t accept terms of peace?”

Alm nodded. “Partially. I mean, we’ve finished the main point of our campaign. We defended Zofia. But after all I’ve seen, I don’t think things are ever going to be the same as they once were. And…”

“And?” Lukas echoed. Alm bit his lip and went quiet.

“And… people keep referring to me as a king,” Alm’s hands loosened, before resting against the sides of the box to grip against the material. “At first I took it as something in jest, but more and more people call me by that. It unsettles me.”

“I see.” Lukas took a moment to ponder. His first reaction would have been to assure Alm that people felt that way because they had faith in his capabilities, and how he had proven much better a leader than King Lima or Desaix within a few seasons. However, he felt that was not the thing Alm wanted to hear. “...Well, sometimes, people force us onto path’s we do not choose for ourselves. Through no fault of ours, the machinations of men or some may say of fate, drive us towards ends we could have never seen for ourselves. Sometimes it leads to glory, some it leads to tragedy, and some it leads to a swift and unheroic end. This is only my opinion, but I say it is best that we make do with what one has and go from there. Those that fight the tides of change have always been doomed, in one shape or another.”

During this impromptu speech, Lukas felt Alm’s eyes on him. He wondered how the young commander would react.

“Lukas, it sounds like you speak from experience,” Alm answered, his voice surprised. “Is… is that how you feel?”

That, again, was odd. Lukas still was not used to people asking him how he felt. Maybe that continued to prove how good a man Alm was. His actions reverberate in his words and promises.

When Lukas did not respond, Alm reached out and touched the end of his elbow to pull him from his thoughts. “If it’s something you’re not comfortable saying then forget about it, okay? I didn’t want to pull you into my woebegone-ness.”

“I don’t believe I’ve heard that word used in that context before.” Lukas quirked an eyebrow.

Alm pulled back. “Ah… maybe I was trying a bit too hard. Clair taught me some fancier words over the past few weeks. I thought I would try using them, but maybe I bit off more than I could chew.”

“Keep trying. I don’t think your oratory skills need much improvement, though,” Lukas replied, and the tension cleared a bit, but… Alm had asked. It wouldn’t be fair not to give some sort of response. “Actually, those words have reflected my own path in life. I did not choose to fight for the Deliverance on my own. Rather, my older brother sent me there. He believed if we were unsuccessful, then he could feign ignorance or that if we were, he could claim himself a supporter of the cause. It was a win-win either way since it had me away from home. In truth, I’m not sure what I will do after this war, either.”

Other than at strategy meetings, this might be the most Lukas had said in a single conversation. Instead of fear- not that he really ever felt true fear- it was a sense of relief. He hadn’t talked about this since telling Clive, and there had been a rift in their understanding of each other as of late. Forsyth and Python were good friends, but he didn’t feel like it was ever right to bring that up in conversation.

“Your brother doesn’t deserve you,” Alm replied firmly.

“No, he doesn’t. Which is why I will not be going back,” Lukas answered simply. “Just as I assume you will not return to Ram, am I correct?”

“...Yes, you are.” Alm sighed. “But, is it alright for me to feel like this? When so many people’s lives are on my shoulders, it’s-”

“It is alright to feel this way,” Lukas said. “I would think someone mad if they were assured of everything. Keep it in your mind, but also don’t let it halt your feet. You can keep moving forward, and an answer will come. I’m sure of it.”

More than sure, based on what Alm could do with the Royal Sword. Alm would make it, and Lukas had already made it his duty to support him. Mycen’s “true” grandson or not, he knew Alm would see his path to the end.

“Right,” Alm got to his feet and gave him a bow. “Thank you, for guiding me until now. Please continue to.”

Lukas stood up and made a similar bow. “Of course.”

\--

_A Support_

When they invaded Rigel, Lukas had expected a much colder reception from its people. The seaside village their forces found themselves in, however, had given them a lion’s share of supplies, and even allowed them to camp within their borders.

“Jerome and Nuibaba both were a scourge to our lands, and you rescued our Tatiana. The Deliverance is no foe of ours,” The village elder told them with a warm welcome. “It’s the least we can do.”

They all welcomed the respite, with some among their ranks trading with the villagers for more sturdy cloaks and mantles to keep out Rigel’s chill. On the night they were there, they had even set up a bonfire on the sand, and invited the Deliverance soldiers to partake in the festivities. Lukas watched in amusement as Python attempted and succeeded in winning a dance with one of the villagers, while Forsyth talked animatedly to Lady Tatiana and her lover, General Ezekiel. There had been an interesting exchange between the foreigner and Alm, and it weighed against many different things in the back of his mind. Perhaps… no, no need to add more unnecessary weight to Alm’s shoulders.

The villagers from Ram began to teach the Rigelians a folk dance popular in their region, and the sounds of laughter and banter rose even higher than the crashing waves behind them. Looking on at the scene gave Lukas a sense of peace. As a child around the northern border, he had grown up hearing stories about how bloodthirsty the Rigelians were. An entire country, filled with countless types of people, simplified in such a way was simply ridiculous, and this affirmed it. A people truly did suffer from their ruler’s temperaments. Or maybe, it was better to say from that of their respective gods. As they moved further into Rigel’s interior, and the more arcanists they faced, Lukas thought that their might be more sinister forces at play.

Lukas watched Alm move away from the main party, trudging a little in the sand and over towards the piece of driftwood Lukas had found to sit. “Not feeling up to joining the party? I heard a lot of the villagers asking about you.”

“I’m perfectly fine where I am,” Lukas answered, feeling no desire to flirt with the potential flirtations some of them might desire. “Go ahead and have some fun with your friends, Alm. You’ve earned it.”

“Well, I’m allowed to check in with one of my other friends first,” Alm replied. The ease that he said it felt good to hear.

Lukas shrugged. “Do as you wish.”

Alm sat down on the other side of the driftwood and watching over the festivities. They spent a few minutes like that, simply taking in the glow of the fire that cast all the dancing bodies into shadows. “Remember our talk back at the Sluice Gate?”

“I do,” Lukas said.

“I think I know what drives me better now. I was so worried about not living up to people’s expectations, but so far… I think I understand better what’s driving me to continue. Like you said before, I want to see this path to the end, and hearing about the lives of Rigelians, even if they view Emperor Rudolf with kindness, something has to change. I think all of this has been a long time coming.”

Lukas turned to look over at Alm. The fire cast his face in both light and shadow, but his expression seemed resolute. “So, you have found your resolve?”

“Yes, I think I have.”

“I’m glad for you,” Lukas said. “To be honest, I’m still not so sure of my own. Right now, though, I am content being with the Deliverance. This army and the people within it are those I wish to fight for, yourself included.”

“That’s nice to know,” Alm replied, smiling. “I’m glad we can walk the same path.”

After that, they both saw Tobin waving, beckoning them to come. The fish being grilled for dinner was ready. They walked back to join the others.

\--

_A+ Support_

Lukas stood outside the throne room, face taciturn as he watched Alm’s shoulders hunch and lift as Mycen walked away from Alm and towards him.

“General Mycen.”

Mycen turned, doing a quick once over on Lukas’s baron attire and his new lance. “I see that you have also come a long way since we last spoke in Ram, Sir Lukas.”

“It’s true, then,” Lukas replied flatly. “What the soldiers around the castle have said.”

“That it is. But I assume you’ve had your own suspicions for a while.”

Lukas frowned. “...You raised him. And all this time, you never told him his true heritage?”

“I had my orders. I chose to walk this path of secrecy the moment he was placed in my arms as a babe,” Mycen’s eyes closed then, perhaps recall that moment. “And since then, I’ve known that this day would come. Alm has finally come back, and now that he knows the truth, he must make the final steps to his own destiny. There is still too much at stake to allow grief to consume us.”

Lukas kept silent, looking beyond Mycen towards Alm, who had his back turned and sight cast on the empty Rigelian throne. In a sick way, Emperor Rudolf had assured his bloodline’s conquest of Valentia in his death.

“Go and speak with him, but know that time remains of the essence,” Mycen said. Lukas’s gaze flitted back to him, and gave Mycen the customary bow of his head, before walking past him. He kept a few feet away from the young man- commander- hero- prince- king-

“...Alm.”

Alm’s head jerked, but he did not turn his way and spoke with a croak. Based on how he screamed at the end of the battle, his throat must have felt sore. “What, did you know about it too? Did you lie to me too?”

The words stung. “No, but for some time I have thought about… the signs. I should have told you. Perhaps if I did, things would not have come to this.”

Alm turned to him, his teeth bared and eyes shiny. He still had bloodstains on his armor from the battle. He looked so tired, the most tired that Lukas could ever remember him being since they had first met. Like a lost child instead of a conqueror.

“When I walked through the castle, all of them kept calling me different names and titles, but they never looked me in the eye. They… they were afraid. Is that what I should expect for the rest of my life? For people only to see me as a son that killed his own father?”

As Alm spoke, the tears finally began to spill and Lukas walked forward and wrapped an arm around his friend’s shoulders, pulling him against his side. With both of them in their armor, and Alm’s recent height growth to Lukas’s height, the gesture was awkward, but Alm leaned into the touch as he let out stunted sobs. Lukas lead them to sit on the steps the lined the throne. Lukas set his lance aside, bringing them into a full hug and felt the cool metal of Alm’s headband against the side of his face.

Lukas was not used to this physical contact, but his words had failed him in trying to console Alm. This was the next best thing he could think of. Alm continued to cry, and Lukas held on.

After a few minutes and Alm’s tears were spent, Alm spoke. “When… when this is all over… can you stay with me? I know- I know that it sounds selfish when you’ve already done so much-”

“I did all those things because I wanted to. Because I believed in you,” Lukas answered calmly. It was obvious now. This path would continue. He had talked about being forced down this path, but now he could say that this was the path he chose. They had already done so much, after all, how much harder could it be to kill a god? “I still do, and everyone else does, I’m sure of it. I will stay for as long as you need me.”

Alm nodded, not lifting his face up, but his breathing began to even out. He wasn’t quite ready yet, and that was okay. It was only a few minutes more, and then they would go together.

**Author's Note:**

> I listened to an instrumental piano rendition of "Kaine" from Nier and "Sleep Forever" by Portugal. The Man writing this if you want to listen for more feelings.


End file.
